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Edict of Milan: tolerance for Christians
AD 313· Council, creed or writing· Bible story & events
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
The 313 agreement by Emperors Constantine and Licinius granting Christians, and everyone else, freedom of worship.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
After his victory in 312, Constantine met the eastern emperor Licinius at Milan in February 313. They agreed that 'Christians and all others' could follow the religion of their choice, and that churches and land seized in the Great Persecution be returned, with compensation to buyers from the treasury. It built on a toleration edict issued by the dying emperor Galerius in 311. Licinius published the text in the East that June.
Why it matters
It secured Christianity's legal status across the empire and opened the way to imperial support, church building and, within 70 years, an official state religion.
Sources and history
The text survives in Lactantius (On the Deaths of the Persecutors, chapter 48), as a letter posted at Nicomedia, and in a Greek version in Eusebius's Church History.
Questions and debates
Historians note it was probably not a formal 'edict' issued at Milan at all, but a policy agreement later published as letters to governors.
Connections (3)
▸Roman persecution of Christians ended with Edict of Milan: tolerance for ChristiansHistorical record
The connection
Diocletian's Great Persecution, from February 303, destroyed churches, burned scriptures and arrested clergy, but failed to stamp the faith out. The dying emperor Galerius halted it by an edict of toleration in April 311. The Milan agreement of 313 went further, granting full freedom of worship and returning seized property.
When and where
Nicomedia, the eastern capital (303); Serdica, now Sofia (311); Milan (313).
Historical evidence
Lactantius, who lived through it, quotes both the 311 and 313 texts; Eusebius's Church History, Books 8–10, describes the persecution as an eyewitness.
Questions and debates
Deaths in the Great Persecution are uncertain; estimates vary, often in the low thousands. Licinius later harassed eastern Christians again around 320, so the end was not entirely clean.
▸Constantine the Great issued, with Licinius, Edict of Milan: tolerance for ChristiansHistorical record
The connection
Fresh from his Milvian Bridge victory, Constantine met Licinius, the eastern emperor, at Milan, where Licinius married Constantine's half-sister Constantia. They agreed on freedom of religion for Christians and all others and the return of church property. Licinius then defeated his eastern rival Maximinus Daia and published the policy in the East.
When and where
Milan, February 313; published by Licinius at Nicomedia on June 13, 313.
Historical evidence
The text survives in Lactantius (chapter 48) and in Eusebius's Church History (Book 10.5), both written within a few years of the event.
Questions and debates
Licinius's own motives are unclear: he was not a Christian, and the deal may have been mainly an alliance against Maximinus Daia, who had resumed persecuting Christians in the East.
▸Edict of Milan: tolerance for Christians was taken further by Christianity becomes Rome's official religionHistorical record
The connection
Milan (313) made Christianity legal alongside other religions. Constantine's sons restricted pagan sacrifice; Julian (361–363) tried to revive paganism; Gratian dropped the old priestly title 'pontifex maximus'. Theodosius's 380 edict then made Nicene Christianity official, and his laws of 391–392 banned pagan sacrifice: from tolerated minority to state religion in about 70 years.
When and where
Milan (313), Thessalonica (380), Constantinople (391–392).
Historical evidence
The Theodosian Code (438), book 16, collects the religious laws in order, showing the step-by-step shift.
Questions and debates
How many Romans were Christian along the way is uncertain; estimates suggest about 10% around 300 and perhaps half by 400.